For the next two weeks I went away to Tunisia, and though I made sure there was sufficient wifi to continue doing work while i was out there, this turned out to be a less than honest description on the part of the hotel and holiday company. I did manage to get slivers of wifi here and there while we went out, I managed to download some research material to look into further, so I could still be productive despite the reduced access to information.
Tunisia:
While i was unable to find any white cube galleries near where we were staying, there was still moments of the trip that gave unexpected insight into my research.
One such moment was during a tour of a traditional Tunisian cave-dwelling. Even though they were carved out of desert sand and earth, they were painted matte white with a gypsum-clay. This is because of its iso-thermic and insulating qualities. The white paint used in these homes, protects them from the 'contextual' heat of the desert. There is however, still a feeling of place, that keeps the experience grounded. The texture of the cave is only highlighted by the white coating; it has a dusted texture that rubs off on the fingers like chalk and the non-geometric volume of the architecture only emphasises the materiality of the empty space. As the cave was dug by hand, the shape of the walls reveal the privilege of space.
As the dwelling is in the barren desert too, there is not an abundance of materials such as wood for shelving, so items are hung on the walls like artwork.
Steve Goodman: Sonic Warfare:
One text I was able to access was an online PDF of Sonic Warfare. Though it was free to read online, I knew that i would not always have access to the internet consistently and so I took a screenshot on my phone of over 100 pages, to investigate it further.
I have separated my most important reflections, into the categories/ fields of haunting that they apply to most:
1. Psychogenic haunting - Psychogenic(s) of fear – fear as an emotional response/ effect of sound reflects a relational aspect of sounds and especially haunting has a fearful aspect to it. The fear of haunting comes out of a certain dread. “The same dread of an unwanted, possible future is activated, perhaps all the more powerful for its spectral presence.” – sound contributes to an immersive atmosphere or ambience of fear and dread. – Goodman describes this relational dimension as its affective tone – as the way in which a sound can modulate mood.
- Psychogenic(s) and consequence of sound – In the example of the sonic boom, the sound has a multi-dimensional affect. It has the psychogenic effect of inducing and dread, but also it has a physical effect – vibrations and broken windows etc.
- Wandering ghost - “As the unhinged Manley suggests, this war was not just about a tactics of amplitude. At night, its effectiveness was intensified, acquiring an enhanced power to tap into superstitious belief systems. The curdler produced the “voodoo effects” of a Wandering ghost, in which haunting sounds said to represent the souls of the dead were played in order to perturb the superstitious snipers who, while recognizing the artificial source of the wailing voices, could not help but dread what they were hearing weas a premonition of their own postdeath dislocated soul.”
2. Acousmatic haunting
-- Sound as acousmatic fear - There is a certain Acousmaticism in this specifically sonic warfare, that is not identified here by Goodman. The threats such as bombs and bullets each create very loud sounds, however these are not specifically sonic attacks. It is only when sound is specifically isolated from its causal factor that the haunting nature of that sound emerges, and the effects of the sonic element can be understood.
- Unsound – defines unsound as the dimension of frequencies just outside of the (human) periphery.
- ‘I suggest later that directional ultrasound marks a phase shift in the way acoustic space is understood....’
3. Modulated haunting:
- Doppler effect – An example of how sounds may modulate, not based on the way it is played or the space it is in, but on our modulating proximity to the sound source. ‘Noise or sound, for instance, do not physically ‘change’ in the doppler effect; it is the relation between the observer and the emitting object that is modified.’
- Explaining the doppler effect – It occurs when an observer or an emitting object reaches sufficient speed relative to the other, or rather it is the change in speed to a sufficient degree that occurs. The effect not only indicates a necessary cause; but also it is the mark of an event, where the context surrounding the object is directly linked to a circumstantial cause.
- Augoyard and Torgue’s sonic effect – they write that this sonic effect while sometimes measurable, was not reproducible (as is important for academic research).The concept of the sonic effect seemed to describe this interaction between the physical sound environment and the milieu of a social-cultural community, and the ‘internal soundscape’ of each individual. – allows for idea of soundscape to expand inwards to the subjective experience of the individual participating in it.
4. Other/ general:
- Associations of sonorous mapping technologies – For example, sonar and the navigational capabilities of echolocation. – light has a similar connection to space which can be used and measured in similar ways with laser technologies or LiDAR and photogrammetry. (Which I have experimented with in previous artistic projects. However, I believe that there is value in approaching the critiques of the white cube from sound as a versatile medium that has not been as ingrained in our cultural experience and is markedly different in that it interacts with time.
The differing relations of light, sound and time – According to Einstein’s theory of special relativity, the speed of light is the fastest measure in the universe, as if time stops and waits for light to catch up. Sound however is a wave which interacts with this dimension of time as we do and therefore is more ‘relative’ to us. There is an innate connection that can be drawn to light and timelessness, and therefore separation from us, which mirrors the aspect of sound and time-fulness and the nexus of relations it embodies with us included.
- Body of the listener - Body as a transducer of vibration rather than a detached listening subject isolated from its sonic objects.
Here are some further reflections from this week:
If you’re going to develop an ontological means of navigating a new field, the words we use to classify and describe things becomes immensely important.
- Importance of classifying difference between noise and sound.
Sound as the all-encompassing umbrella for sonic experience.
Noise as sounds that relate to or contribute towards the soundscape around us.
Music as an organised structure of sounds within rhythm and time, and not space. – in other words, the definition that Neuhaus uses for Sound installation, this definition feels appropriate as it encompasses even experimental forms of music.
- Importance of classifying difference between space and place.
Space as the all-encompassing umbrella for dimensional navigation. ( Space is the limitless void in which all things exist).
Place as the specific space that is artificially set apart from space with associated significance, determined either by walls and structures, or by general notions of boundaries and borders.
Volume as the physicality of the space that fills an architectural space.
- Importance of classifying research into sonic ecology
Etymologically speaking, eco- comes from the Greek for house and -logy comes from the Greek for ‘the study of-‘. In other words, the study of the house, but it is defined as the scientific study of the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
All of this reflects an appropriate discussion of the research of people to their surroundings and so a sonic ecology would investigate how organisms can relate to place. People are organisms so perhaps a further elaboration of ‘social sonic ecology’ would better reflect specifically how humans relate to each other and to place. Or perhaps we should use Goodman’s ‘audio-social’ ecology as a more succinct title.
The goal of the research is to show how sound can be observed in a place to reflect how that site is haunted, for the purpose of proposing a new standard for curation that better fulfils its purpose of ‘providing space for people to experience art.’
Adapting the research question to better suit the project:
In what ways can sound installation challenge the white cube?
Exploring the gallery space as a haunted site.
An investigation into the Audio-social ecology and hauntology of the white cube.
In what ways can an investigation into the Audio-social ecology and hauntology of the white cube assist in theorising improved standards of Art curation?
Kommentare